


Wax On, Wax Off

by betheflame



Series: Shorts & Drabbles 2020 [15]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Established Relationship, M/M, Merman Steve Rogers, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:02:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27080878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/betheflame/pseuds/betheflame
Summary: Sure, a man could fall in love with a merman - but where would they make out?
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Series: Shorts & Drabbles 2020 [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1647499
Comments: 26
Kudos: 190





	Wax On, Wax Off

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Askafroa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Askafroa/gifts).



> Once upon a time - ie, Christmas - I wrote [_Hot Guy Has a Tail?_](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21552742) and it was more popular than I anticipated. Mairi, in particular, really fell in love with it and I promised her that if she made art in the universe, I'd make words. 
> 
> And she called me on my bluff. 
> 
> So here you are, my dear artistic wonder - I hope you enjoy! Events take place approximately three years after the first story.

“Tony, stop.”

“Steeeeeeeve,” Tony whined.

“Tony, I have to finish this essay.”

“And I have to finish waxing your tail.”

Steve glared at his boyfriend. “I’m not a surfboard.”

“You say that, but I think this could -”

“Tony, go.” Steve pointed to the other side of the pond and slammed his AirPods back in his ears.

They usually planned the shifts better, where Steve would have all of his school work done before the tail took over and he was confined to being either in water or near it for most of the week. It had taken them two years to fully work out a schedule and everything was going great until - this time - Steve had gotten the flu two weeks prior and had to bump his midterm essay for Foundations of European Class Structures to Shift Week.

To say he was stressed was an understatement and Tony understood - he really did. But he’d come up with a solution and Steve was being stubborn and wouldn’t listen. For years he’d been working on a compound that Steve could put on his tail that would essentially keep the scales lubricated so that they weren’t quite as dependent on Steve being in water as they currently were. Sure, he didn’t mind living in the aquatic lab each night for a week that first year, or then in the pond he’d had dug at the Stark Mansion over the summer or the pool he’d had built at his Boston apartment. Tony liked water and he loved Steve and the life they were building together.

He just…

He just knew it could be better.

As he stomped to the other side of the pond and took a seat on the suspended papasan he’d installed to nap in while Steve lazily floated to sleep, he felt the hard box in his pocket and scowled.

Maybe tomorrow.

* * *

_TextityText: Bucky & Steve_

_Steve: He’s obsessed with that stupid wax._

_Bucky: He loves you, jerk. So it must be for a reason._

_Steve: But why does he want me to feel like a dolphin? Does he have a fetish he’s not telling me about?_

_Bucky: Steve, I have to be honest. You are my only friend who is half sea-creature, so I’m really not an expert here._

_Steve: Fuck off._

_Bucky: Pal, the dude built you both a house so that you could always be comfortable and together. He built extra rooms for me and Clint when we were kicked outta that rat hole, and then a full greenhouse for Wanda when she decided to try to run a flower shop. By all evidence, he is a good dude who loves you. If he’s also got a dolphin kink, I’d recommend dealing with it._

_Bucky: Or, and this is a wild idea, I know_

_Bucky: Ask him._

_Steve: Sometimes I wonder if you’re part of the curse too, you know_

_Bucky: Nah, I’m a blessing_

* * *

“Okay, Stark, take three. Just tell him why it’s important and then -”

_SPLASH_

Tony jumped as water crashed over his bare feet. Thank Tesla he’d heated the pond, as he was standing at the side of it waiting for Steve to arrive. If he remembered to get outside for a date night or outdoor study session before twilight, Steve could walk himself, but he must have gotten back late from class and not been able to make it all the way outside on two legs.

“Hi sweetheart,” Steve grinned from the water. “It’s pretty nice out, you wanna get in?”

“You gonna snap at me again?”

Tony could see Steve’s slight blush in the twilight. “I’m sorry, Tony, you’re just real distracting and I needed to get work done and I know you don’t want to hang out in the water all night while I’m working and I was trying to rush so we could be together.”

“See, that’s what I was trying to talk to you about,” Tony said. “The wax -”

“What is your deal with the wax?” Steve said, exasperated. “It makes my scales feel so… weird.”

“But it doesn’t dry them out, right?”

Steve seemed to pause in thought at that. “No,” he said slowly, “they feel sealed or something.”

Tony bounced on his tip toes. “That’s the point! It’s like a really fancy lotion that seals the moisture into your scales, or at least I think it does, so you could be out of the water while you’re working on homework and not get that weird rash you get on your legs when you’re out for too long after you shift back. I just, wait what is that look on your face? Oh, crap, have you -”

_SPLASH_

Tony licked the water from off his face and blinked. When they were both either on land or in water, Steve would cut Tony’s rambles with a kiss. But when Steve was in the water and Tony was on land, Steve used his tail to its greatest advantage.

“You ridiculous man,” Steve said, with an affection sigh. “Get in here so I can kiss you.”

Tony grinned and stripped off his clothes quickly, making sure that the small box didn’t fall out of his hoodie pocket as he put it on the ground and dove in. Steve met him under water and pulled him to the surface, kissing him as soon as he could.

“Lack of gills,” Tony said in between kisses once they surfaced.

Steve chuckled against Tony’s lips. “Another thing you need a solution for.”

* * *

* * *

“Baby, are you almost done?” Tony leaned forward and rested his chin on Steve’s tail and felt the fins tickle his chin.

“Soon, sweetheart,” Steve said and peered up from his notebook.

“It’s just -”

“Soon, sweetheart,” Steve repeated firmly.

Tony turned around and leaned his back against the firm support provided by Steve’s curved tail. He took his phone out and texted Bruce.

_TextityText: Bruce Banner_

_Tony: Are you sure?_

_Bruce: Nat told me that if you ask me that one more time I’m supposed to burn your workshop down._

_Tony: I’m not asking your girlfriend, I’m asking you._

_Bruce: When it comes to this topic, we just said the same thing._

Huffing to himself that his friends were no help, he grabbed his chai and sipped on it while playing a few rounds of 2048 before Steve finally moved his tail and swept Tony up into his arms.

“Now I’m finished. What’s got you so impatient?”

Tony dug into his hoodie pocket and handed Steve the box he’d been carrying for all of Shift Week. He knew that he had to ask the question he was about to while Steve was shifted, so that Steve would never question if this was an in-spite-of situation.

“Tony, what is… is this a…”

Instead of twisting himself to face Steve, he leaned into him and laced their fingers together. “The last three years have been wild and wonderful and… anyway, I’ve been collecting shells from our vacations for a while now and I kinda soldered them together in a… and that’s what this is made of and…”

“Just to be clear,” Steve’s voice rumbled quietly into Tony’s ear, “this is an engagement ring? You are fumbling your way through a proposal?”

“Yeah, and obviously fucking it up.”

“Not even close,” Steve affirmed him and placed the ring into Tony’s hand. “Can you slip it on my finger?”

“Is that a yes?”

“That you even thought for a minute that the answer might be no is way more about the gremlins that live in your brain, sweetheart. The answer’s been yes since that first night in the aquatic lab on my end. I just can’t quite believe you want to have to do this forever.”

“What? Have our lives controlled by the full moon?” Tony said with a snort. “Bruce says that he and Nat are, too, so-”

Steve playfully swatted Tony’s shoulder with a laugh. “Can you turn around, please?”

“Why?”

“I’d like to kiss my future husband, please.”

“Eh, I suppose,” Tony said as he slithered to straddle Steve’s tail and draw the blonde into a deep kiss, befitting the occasion.

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked the story, I'd love to know! Kudos and comments are life giving. If you're not sure what to say in the comment, know that I take keyboard smashes and emojis as full love. So, if you liked it more than just a kudos, dropping a heart emoji is great and I thank you in advance.
> 
> Find me on [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/betheflame1) or [Tumblr](http://betheflame.tumblr.com) for more on these yahoos. You can also submit prompts and cajole me into writing faster - it usually works. If you're on Discord, I'm definitely there, too, and probably hanging in the [Put on the Suit Stony Server ](https://discord.gg/z5WSqbS) or the [STB Enthusiasts Stuckony](https://discord.gg/ktXHUb4) one.  
>   
> Oh! And FestiveFerret and I have a [fandom podcast](http://www.podonthesuit.com) if you're so inclined.  
>   
> (


End file.
